Fly guard for screen doors and like



1942; I w. G. HORSTMAN 2,268,941

FLY GUARD FOR SCREEN DOORS AND LIKE Filed June 3, 1940 INVENTOR.

WHLTEE EI- HUESTMHN 722 ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 6, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,268,941 FLY GUARD FOR SCREEN DOORS AND LIKE Walter G. Horstman, Des Moines, Iowa Application June 3, 1940, Serial No. 338,516

2 Claims. (01. 156-14) The principal object of this invention is to provide a guard shield for screen doors and like that aids in preventing flies, insects, bugs and like from flying upwardly over the door and into the house when the screen door is opened.

More specifically, the object of my invention is to provide an easily installed horizontal awning above swinging doors, screen doors, windows and like.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a fly shield for installation above screen doors and like that is economical in manufacture, durable in use, and attractive in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of my device installed and in use.

Fig. 2 is a side view of my fly shield installed and showing its position above a screen door'or like, and is taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the engaging brackets.

Fig. 5 is an inside side view of one of the spring supporting rod arms.

During the warmer months, it is indeed a most difficult task to keep flies and like out of houses, buildings, and like. A great percent of these flies and insects enter the house or building when the'door or screen door is opened to permit the entrance or exit of an individual. I have observed that when the door or screen door is swung open, the flies or insects at rest on the outer side of the door or screen door are disturbed and fly upwardly over the top of the screen door or like and then downwardly. Obviously as the screen door is closed, these flies or insects are literally forced into the house or building. I have overcome this trouble by providing a flat horizontal shelf device installed on the frame of the house or building and positioned above and in close proximity to the swinging door or screen, whereby when the door is opened, the

insects may fly upwardly, but will be prevented from flying downwardly over the top of the screen door or like.

Referring to the drawing, I have used the numeral III to designate the frame of a house, building or like having the usual hinged screen door II. It is to such an establishment that I attach my fiy'shield, and which I will now describe. The numerals I2 and I3 designate two supporting bracket clamp members rigidly secured to the frame I 0 and above the plane of the door II. These members I2 and I3 may be secured by screws, nails, bolts or like, and are spaced apart as shown in Fig. 3. Each of these brackets I2 and I3 have a plurality of vertically extending rod end receiving pockets I4 as shown in Fig. 4. Two outwardly extending awning supporting arms I5 are used. These rod arms I5 are made of suitable metal and preferably having spring characteristics. The secured and. of each of the rods I5 is designated by the numeral I 6 and extend upwardly to engage one of the pockets I4 of one of the brackets I2 or I3, as shown in Fig. 3. Each of these spring supporting rod arms I5 extend outwardly at substantially a right angle from the frame III a substantial distance, and then are curved upwardly and rearwardly and then bent to extend rearwardly, inwardly and downwardly to frictionally engage the frame I0 at points substantially in the same plane as the brackets I2 and I3 and the points inside these two brackets as shown in Fig. 3. The numeral I1 designates an awning shield having its two ends lapped over and sewed to provide sleeves I8, which embrace portions of the two arms I5 as shown in Fig. 2. These supporting arms I5 are threaded through these sleeves I8 of the awning I1 before these supporting arms are placed on the brackets I2 and I3. The width of the awning I1 is such that it will extend from points near the brackets I2 and I3 outwardly on those portions of the arms I5 that extend outwardly from the brackets and also those center portions of the arms I5 that are bent upwardly and rearwardly in curved paths as shown in Fig. 2. By this construction, the awning will extend outwardly above the swinging plane of the screen door or like and then curve at its outer edge upwardly and rearwardly to not only give an attractive, substantially thick front appearance to the device as shown in Fig. 1, but also a curved trap construction for the flies and insects as shown in Fig. 2. After the two ends I6 of the arms are placed in the appropriate pockets of the brackets I2 and I3, the free ends of the arms I5 are moved for frictional engagement with the wooden frame I0, whereby these ends of the arms I5 will dig into the soft wood of the frame, and bind the complete assembly against accidental detachment. By forcing these free ends of these spring arms as close to their brackets as possible, the awning will become taut and will be continuously yieldingly so held. By providing a plurality of pockets M in each of the brackets l2 and I3, slight variations in the length of the fabric awning IT or distance between the two brackets may be compensated for.

With my device installed as shown in the drawing, the door may be swung open as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and any flies, insects, bugs or like that fly upwardly from the outer side of the screen door must, by virtue of my device, move to positions above the awning shield l1, and from such positions such insects, flies, and bugs will be prevented from flying downwardly on the inner side of the door and into the house or building. To remove my device after the insect season, it is merely necessary to manually spring the free ends of the arms (which are slightly longer than the fastened end portions), from engagement with the frame In and move the arms downwardly until their ends I8 clear the brackets l2 and l3. 7

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my improved fly guard for screen doors and like without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In combination with a door frame having a swinging door, two bracket members secured to said frame, a rod arm extending from each of said brackets first outwardly in a horizontal plane then upwardly and rearwardly in a curved path and then downwardly and at an angle to its length for frictionally engaging the frame to which its bracket is secured, and a flexible shield having its two end portions fastened to said two arms respectively.

2. In combination with a building having an opening and ,a swinging door for closing said opening, two bracket members secured to said building, a spring rod arm extending from each of said brackets first outwardly in a horizontal plane then upwardly and rearwardly in a curved path and then downwardly and at an angle to its length for frictionally engaging the building to which its bracket is secured, and a flexible shield having its two end portions fastened to said two arms respectively.

WALTER G. HORSTMAN. 

